Psalms 138: An answered voice and an unfinished work

Psalm 138 begins with praise rooted in an answered cry, but the answer is first described as strength given within the soul rather than the disappearance of every threat. The singer's gratitude then widens toward the kings of the earth, who are imagined hearing God's words and singing of his ways. Height and rank are rearranged by the claim that the Lord, though high, regards the lowly while knowing the proud from afar. The final verses return to danger still in progress. Trouble remains around the singer even as he expects reviving and rescue. The chapter ends with confidence that God will complete what concerns him, yet that confidence immediately becomes another petition that the work of God's own hands not be forsaken.